Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday unveiled the official star-studded lineup for the big blowout concert planned at Central Park next month — including Jon Batiste, LL Cool J, Jimmy Fallon, Journey, Carlos Santana, The New York Philharmonic, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, and Bruce Springsteen.
The “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” will celebrate the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic with two dozen performers on Saturday, Aug. 21. But if you want to see the big show in person, you’ll need to be vaccinated, the mayor warned.
“This homecoming concert is going to be the signal of our rebirth,” de Blasio said at his daily press briefing July 27. “New York City is back, you can see it you can feel it, it’s time to celebrate it on the Great Lawn, where so many great things have happened before, this is going to go into the history books.”
Mayor de Blasio tapped Brooklyn-born producer legend Clive Davis to assemble a bill of 22 musicians and entertainers confirmed.
The iconic Great Lawn, near the Metropolitan Museum of Art, can host up to 60,000 people for the grand gig, organized with global concert giant Live Nation and the city Economic Development Corporation’s chairman Danny Meyer, and it will be broadcast live and worldwide on CNN.
“There is absolutely no place more special than Central Park to celebrate the reopening of New York City,” said Davis, an 89-year-old Crown Heights native. “I consider the mayor’s request a true honor; and, with Live Nation, we are curating an unforgettable show befitting of this historic occasion.”
Attendees will have to show proof that they got at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at entry, according to de Blasio — a shift from last month when hizzoner first announced the bash and said that some unvaccinated people would be permitted.
It is not clear whether children under the age of 12 who aren’t eligible for the vaccine will be able to attend.
Some 80% of tickets will be free along with VIP passes, and tickets will go on full sale starting Monday, Aug. 2, at 10 a.m., according to officials.
Cardholders with Citi, one of the event’s main sponsors, will get early access to buy VIP tickets starting Thursday, July 29 at 10 a.m. through Sunday, Aug. 1 at 10 p.m.
In addition to the concert there will be a series of events from Aug. 14-22 for the citywide celebration of New York City’s comeback dubbed NYC Homecoming Week, including concerts in all five boroughs, free movie screenings, and public arts.
Here’s the full lineup for WE LOVE NYC: The Homecoming Concert:
- Jon Batiste
- Andrea Bocelli
- Kane Brown
- LL Cool J
- Elvis Costello
- Lucky Daye
- Earth, Wind & Fire
- Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds
- Cynthia Erivo
- Jimmy Fallon
- Jennifer Hudson
- Wyclef Jean
- Journey
- The Killers
- Gayle King
- Don Lemon
- Barry Manilow
- The New York Philharmonic
- Polo G
- Carlos Santana
- Paul Simon
- Patti Smith
- Bruce Springsteen
- Rob Thomas
“WE LOVE NYC: The Homecoming Concert” at the Great Lawn in Central Park. Aug. 21 at 5 pm.
Tickets go on sale Monday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. Eastern at www.NYC.gov/homecoming.
For Citi cardholders, there is a presale from Thursday, July 29 at 10 a.m.-Sunday, Aug. 1, 10 p.m. at www.citientertainment.com.
